The Coachella music festival brought tens of thousands of music fans out to the desert for three days of fun in the sun; Trevor Noah performs in the U.S. for the first time since being named host of “The Daily Show”; Kristen Schaal's career gets a boost from her first co-starring role on a major network (pictured).
Coachella 2015: Madonna kisses Drake; AC/DC's still got it
On the first of its two weekends, the hugely-popular Coachella music festival drew tens of thousands of music fans out to the desert for three days of music — and art installations, which drew surprisingly large crowds.
Headliners this year include AC/DC, Jack White and Drake. But there are dozens of smaller bands for which Coachella is their first big festival show.
The Frame host John Horn got on the line with assistant producer James Kim to discuss highlights from Coachella’s opening weekend.
Interview highlights
What performances stood out for you?
“Probably the biggest highlight of the weekend was the most surprising one... It was AC/DC who headlined on Friday night. When they were initially announced on the Coachella lineup, there was a collective groan from the Internet, just because people thought that this band wasn’t relevant anymore. But when they actually went on stage on Friday night, people young, old — it didn’t matter what demographic you were — every single person was singing along to that. And it was actually kind of insane. And I was included in that chorus."
“It’s probably worth mentioning that Madonna made a surprise appearance at Coachella. It was during Drake’s set last night... The lights went off and once they came on Madonna was on stage. The crowd was going nuts. Probably more nuts than they were for the entire Drake set. And at the end of her performance she basically gave Drake a lap dance and then made out with him. Which set the Internet on fire last night and this morning.”
Was there a slightly older audience this year?
“There was a strange demographic going on where, let’s say you would go and watch this R&B artist called FKA Twigs at 11 o’clock at night, but about 20 or 30 percent of the audience was actually a bit older than you would expect, which wasn’t usually the case from previous years... Just kind of a funny side note, even when you’re watching Steely Dan, that audience actually skewed a lot younger than what people may think it might. I was actually sitting towards the back of Steely Dan and sitting right next to an elderly couple who were actually commenting on the fact that Gorgon City was, you know, killing it with their bass beats.”
What was the vibe like for acts that were playing Coachella for the first time?
“Every single artist that we interviewed said they were either nervous or basically said that Coachella was going to be the biggest show that they’ve played. One in particular was Kevin Parker — he’s the lead singer of this psychedelic rock band, Tame Impala, from Australia... They were basically opening up for AC/DC on the main stage, so it was a huge jump for them."
What art installations caught your eye?
“The art installations this year, some of them actually drew a bigger audience than the artists playing Coachella. There’s one where, the very last day, it was a butterfly... In the previous two days it was a caterpillar that roamed around the polo fields... People could pick up the legs and move the butterfly. And since it was so interactive, people were crowding around and even making it difficult to get to some of the stages because there was such a large audience there.”
'Last Man on Earth' star Kristen Schaal owes her career to her stand-up show
In the new Fox comedy series, "Last Man on Earth," Will Forte plays Phil Miller, who, at first, believes he’s the only man left on the entire planet. Then he meets Carol, played by actress and comedian Kristen Schaal.
Phil and Carol's personalities don't quite mesh, but the future of the civilization does require that they start re-populating the planet.
Schaal has had small roles on "Flight of the Conchords" and as the senior women’s correspondent on "The Daily Show." She also does the voice for Louise on Bob’s Burgers. “Last Man on Earth” is Schaal’s first starring role on a major network.
A veteran stand up comedian, Schaal co-hosts the Hot Tub comedy show, which she brought to L.A. from New York when she moved here two years ago. She hosts it every Monday night at The Virgil in Silver Lake.
Interview Highlights:
On the impact of her Hot Tub stand-up show on her career:
I would say that that was what lead me to my career. I was a lil' no-name who would just sit in the back of all my favorite shows, like Eating It and Invite Them Up, and not talk to anybody, until finally I just got the courage to start my own show. ... That was what gave me the courage to finally approach the comedians I admired and invite them to come do my show. Like Michael Showalter, Demetri Martin, Eugene Mirman and David Cross, somehow, was kind enough to want to be involved. Then, all of a sudden, I was getting invited to do their shows. It was a great symbiotic relationship.
On playing a somewhat unlikable character in "The Last Man on Earth":
If [Will Forte's character] was instantly interested in Carol, it's like where are we going from there? The end. I love the conflict, I love the push-and-pull between the two characters. I think it's just a really fun relationship to watch. It's sort of like a Sam and Diane [of "Cheers"] kind of thing that I think is really going to be fun.
On casting directors looking for a "Kristen Schaal" type:
People will send me a copy of a breakdown where they're looking for a Kristen Schaal-type, where I'm not even invited to audition. I was like, "Hey!" I'm assuming it's someone who is not an ingenue, let's be frank; someone who's offbeat and quirky and probably someone who loves cats! That's what I think might be the real general, first-glance take away of it. I'm hoping that a Kristen Schaal-type is someone who is not afraid to do anything, which is something that I try to be mindful of and push myself and encourage myself. No matter what the character's asked to do, I always try to do it at least once. I just try to be fearless in acting characters.
On the voice teacher at Northwestern University who told her she couldn't be in show business:
I was just in her office to sign up, and she turned from her desk, and she's like, "Name?" And I was like, "Kristen Schaal," and she was like, "Ugh, that voice! Oh honey, honey, honey — you are not going to be able to do this business." And I was mortified. It wasn't the first time I was told I probably wouldn't be able to fool around in this world. ... It was really hurtful, because when you're in college, and you haven't even tested out your wares, and someone's telling you that you should just let it go. But that being said, it all worked out for me, I have no hard feelings. My voice has done good by me.
New 'Daily Show' host Trevor Noah isn't talking Twitter, is talking Islam, Ebola
Trevor Noah is the next host of "The Daily Show," but he already landed in hot water with tweets from several years ago that some people said were anti-Semitic and misogynist. Freelance journalist Valerie Paschall saw Noah's standup tour this weekend in Arlington, Virginia. She tells the Frame that Noah didn't even mention the word "Twitter" during his show. Still, he wasn't afraid to push boundaries.
"He definitely touched on some areas that [I thought], Oh God, this could go very, very badly for you, but he never seemed to dig himself into a hole that he couldn't get out of," Paschall said.
His topics included Ebola, terrorism and racial preconceptions. He didn't say anything that seemed to be anti-Semitic, Paschall said, though he did tell a joke that he prefaced by telling his audience that if they were offended, he understands.
The topic of that joke: The reason he flies airlines run by Muslim companies.
"[Noah said that], number one, there's less likely to be a Muslim terrorist on an organization that is owned and operated by Muslims. And number two, if somebody did do that for some reason, there would probably be someone speaking the language and would be able to figure out what's going on," Paschall told the Frame.
In another touchy issue, Noah joked about how Ebola had made flying for him — as an African passenger — more of an adventure.
Watch Noah at a stand-up appearance from last month, talking about Ebola:
Noah's family wasn't quite as excited about his new gig taking over for Jon Stewart as you might think, Pascall said.
"His grandma said, 'Oh, you have a job now!' And he said, 'Oh, well, I had a job before.' And she said, 'Oh, did you have an office? Then, no,'" Paschall said. "As far as his mother, Trevor has two younger brothers, much younger. One is nine years younger, one is 20 years younger, and apparently the news that he had become the new host of 'The Daily Show' was about on par with the news that his youngest brother won student council president."
Noah still has a ways to go getting his name and face out in front of audiences, though he has performed on both Letterman and "The Tonight Show" when it was still hosted by Jay Leno. He also made a handful of appearances on "The Daily Show," talking international issues. He quite likely wouldn't have sold out seven shows in a row outside Washington, D.C. if it wasn't for his new higher profile gig, though some there were already big fans, Paschall said.
He's also not one to shy away from that old comedy stand-by — working the crowd.
"He definitely interacted with the audience in a very friendly manner," Paschall said. "Somebody's [phone] alarm went off actually as he was reaching the punchline of one of his jokes. And while he did certainly address that an alarm had gone off, he did so in a way that didn't embarrass them horribly. He was just like, 'What? It's 8 p.m. This is a very strange time for your alarm to be going off. Are you just now waking up?' And when he mentioned that he grew up in a one-room home in South Africa, somebody in the front of the audience yelled out the town that he grew up in, and he's like, 'Ahhh, Wikipedia has served you well!'"
Now Noah has to bring along Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" audience with that friendly appeal, once he takes over later this year. Noah does, apparently, have friends in high places. He was spotted at a recent Mets/Phillies game alongside Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. (Read more about Noah's Arlington sets in Paschall's report for the Washington City Paper.)
New 'Ant-Man' trailer gets the Marvel tone right this time
Marvel has made its name in film and TV by finding the line between taking chances and playing it safe. The company has shown supreme confidence in its material, from the first "Iron Man" with a Robert Downey Jr. who wasn't a bankable star at the time, to proving that the relatively unknown characters of "Guardians of the Galaxy" could become household names.
"Ant-Man" seems to be one of its biggest risks yet. Marvel was insistent enough on its vision of the film that original writer/director Edgar Wright walked off the project after he refused to make certain changes to his script. Response to the first trailer was muted, with fans feeling ambivalent about where the franchise was going.
Now the new trailer is out, and the reaction has been positive all around.
That new #AntMan trailer is ON FIRE.
— Adam Frazier (@AdamFrazier) April 13, 2015
Any doubts you had about Ant-Man are going away on Monday. The new trailer is legit.
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) April 11, 2015
The new "Ant-Man" trailer strikes the combination action/comedy mix that Marvel movies have been known for, course-correcting from the more dramatic take seen in the first trailer. Meaningful looks between father and daughter have been replaced with a clearer explanation of the plot, character backstory, action sequences and comedy. The highlights include Ant-Man running around with ants, leaping out of the way of a bullet at miniature size, and the reveal of the film's antagonist. You also get several strong jokes, including what happens when Ant-Man's villain, shrunk down, runs up against a Thomas The Tank Engine train set.
The original "Ant-Man" teaser trailer
Original team Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish have a "story by" credit on this movie, but comedy guru Adam McKay (the writer and director of movies such as "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights") and star Rudd himself are credited with the new script. New director Peyton Reed also has some serious comedy chops — he worked on cult TV shows "Mr. Show" and "Upright Citizens Brigade," and he made a big splash with his first feature that is basically the "Citizen Kane" of comedy cheerleader movies, "Bring It On."
For fans looking for signs of what's coming next in the Marvel movies: In the new "Avengers" movie, Ultron gets created by Tony Stark — in the comic books, he was created by Hank Pym, who is played by Michael Douglas and creates the Ant-Man suit in the new film. "Ant-Man" could reveal a deeper connection between Pym, Ant-Man and the greater Marvel cinematic universe, even though it differs from its comic book origins. And one more thing: in the comics, Hank Pym hasn't always been a good dude, so he's one to watch to see if they flip him to be darker than he initially appears.
One other intriguing note — at a press event over the weekend, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige explained where "Ant-Man" fits into the overall plans. While it's coming out after "Age of Ultron," it's actually considered part of Marvel's "Phase 2" movies. Feige told Slashfilm:
"It’s not [an afterthought]. The truth is the phases mean a lot to me and some people but…Civil War is the start of Phase Three. It just is. And Ant-Man is a different kind of culmination of Phase Two because it very much is in the MCU.
"You meet new characters and you learn about Hank Pym and his lineage with the MCU over the years. But at the same time, it also picks up the thread of 'Age of Ultron' in terms of heroes — major heroes, Avengers — coming from unexpected places. Whether it’s prison in the case of Scott Lang or being [the] very disgruntled Sokovian Twins as Wanda and Pietro are in Age of Ultron. And in that way it connects a lot.
"Also, Hank Pym’s attitude towards Avengers, towards S.H.I.E.L.D, and kind of the cinematic universe in general, is much more informed after the events of 'Age of Ultron,' and in a certain way, before the events of 'Civil War.'"
"Ant-Man" is unlikely to come near the box office of "Avengers: Age of Ultron," which hits theaters May 1, but it's got enough to make it seem like a box office summer of Marvel might not be out of reach. (If you want to get more of a peek at the "Age of Ultron," the cast of that film will be on Monday night's "Jimmy Kimmel Live."You can also check out Vox's explainer video (below), wringing as much detail out of the "Age of Ultron" trailer as possible, as well as the full Iron Man/Hulk fight scene from Sunday night's MTV Movie Awards.)
Vox "Avengers: Age of Ultron" trailer explainer